Hearts Beat On
by ElizabethAlbany
Summary: This is an ER story taking place during Season 6. It's like my version of "All In the Family". I write it the way I wanted to see it. Hope you enjoy this. :-) Happy reading. :-)


Elizabeth Corday pushed the door open. She smiled softly at Lucy Knight, who had just miraculously survived a horrible stabbing incident. She sat down in the chair beside the bed and held her hand.

"Lucy, it's Elizabeth." Lucy opened her eyes and smiled as best as she could at her. "You can't talk, you have a trache." Then she went on to explain what had happened and what they had had to do.

"If you want to speak", She said, when she was done. "I can take off the trache and you can whisper. That's all. Would you like to do that?" Lucy nodded so Elizabeth removed the tube. Lucy whispered, "Thank you."

Elizabeth smiled and said, "It was my pleasure." Just then, Dr. Robert Romano came in and smiled. "Well Ms. Knight, you're quite the trooper. For a minute there, we thought we were gonna lose you." She smiled half-heartedly. Robert looked at Elizabeth.

"Good work.", He said, and then exited the room. Elizabeth looked at Lucy, who whispered, "Carter." Elizabeth nodded and smiled. "He's in good hands, Lucy. Dr. Benton is taking good care of him. They think he'll make it. You were both very, very lucky." Lucy nodded slightly, thanked her again and then drifted off to sleep.

"And that, in a nutshell, is what just happened to you in the OR." Dr. John Carter nodded, not believing he was now the patient. "Thanks Peter." Peter Benton nodded and said, "It's my job Carter. That, and we couldn't lose ya' now. You're too good a doctor."

That made John smile as Peter checked his motor skills. "Alright. I'll give you some Morphine for the pain. And I want you walking in twelve hours or so. Okay?" John nodded and looked at him.

"How's Lucy?" Peter sighed. "I don't know Carter, we haven't really heard much." John sighed too and said, "Can you find out for me, please?" Peter nodded. "Yeah, I'll go right now. Uh, I'll be back."

Elizabeth was sitting in the lounge, her head back, when Peter walked in and sat down beside her. "How's she doin'?", He asked. Elizabeth sighed and said, "She's out of the woods now." Peter breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's good. I heard you had some complications." Elizabeth nodded. "Yeah. We ran into a few problems, but Robert and I were able to handle them. How's Carter?" Peter smiled. "He's gonna be just fine. He's a fighter. I guess they both are." Elizabeth nodded.

"I have a feeling he's gonna want to see her…", Peter said, looking at her. Elizabeth stood up. "I agree. Lucy will probably want to see him too. But Carter will be the one who will be able to move first. So…when he's up and walking around, tell him where Lucy is. And he can stop by."

HOURS LATER:

"Hey there." Lucy looked up and smiled as she saw Luka Kovac sit down next to her. "How are you feeling?" She whispered, "Okay. They did a good job." Luka nodded and said, "They certainly did. You were very lucky. It was damn-near a miracle."

Lucy nodded. Luka put his hand over hers. "Are you feeling okay?" She smiled a little and said, "Just great." He chuckled. "I'm sorry, I know you're not gonna be yourself for quite awhile." She nodded but said, "Soon. I'm a fighter." He nodded in agreement.

"Yes, you definitely are a fighter, Luce. Definitely. You should be proud of yourself. We didn't wanna lose you. Good thing we didn't." She smiled. He stood up and placed a kiss on her forehead. "I'll stop back and check on you later." She smiled, one which he returned, and then walked out. Lucy sighed and closed her eyes.

"John. How are you feeling?" He looked up and said, "No practical jokes." Deb Chen sat down and smiled. "No more, I promise." She looked at him. "So, are you feeling alright?" He sighed. "As good as can be expected, I guess. Considering…"

Deb nodded and said, "I'll say." He shifted a little and winced at the pain. "Is Kerry okay? I mean, it's must've been…" Deb nodded again. "Yeah, she's alright. She was in shock for a little while, but she's okay now. She went up to see Lucy and then she'll be down to see you."

He looked up at her. "Is Lucy okay?", He asked. She smiled. "Yeah, Lucy's a trooper. Elizabeth and Romano had some complications, but they managed and Lucy pulled through. She's gonna be okay."

Carter breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. I'm...relieved." Deb raised an eyebrow and cocked her head to look at him. "What?", He asked. She shrugged and said, "Oh, nothing." But he persisted anyway.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She shook her head. "I was just thinking something, that's all…" She looked at her watch. "I have to go. I'll stop by later." She smiled at him once more and then left.

MORE HOURS LATER:

"Alright Carter, are you ready to get up and try walkin'?" John nodded. "Definitely. I am definitely ready. Let's do this." Peter nodded and helped him out of bed. John groaned in pain, but managed to stand anyway.

"Alright, that's a start. Where to?", Peter asked. Then he smiled and shook his head. "Never mind. Guess there was no need to ask." He and John shared a smile and then began slowly walking down the hall.

"Dr. Carter, looking good!", Jerry called. John smiled and said, "Thanks." He got praise from every doctor he saw. When he and Peter were in the elevator, he got a pain in his side. "You alright?", Peter asked, checking his vitals.

John nodded. "Just a little pain. Probably from all the walking." Peter nodded. "You're probably right. Just be careful." They reached the third floor. Elizabeth was rushing by them. She stopped Peter.

"Now is not a good time, Peter. She went into arrest." And then she hurried off. John looked at Peter and then followed Elizabeth quickly, straining himself in the process. Elizabeth and Robert were working furiously to revive her.

"Come on Carter, we'll go to the waiting room. Come on." He had to literally drag John to the waiting room, where he sat down carefully. "Wait here. I'm gonna scrub in and see what I can do." And then John was alone. He put his head in his hands. Then, tears started to fall. And John started praying to God that she would make it through this.


End file.
